1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for producing potato chips which have a reduced content of edible oil or fat (e.g. lower than 32% by weight) and are salted in depth.
The invention also relates to the chips obtained by this process.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The various processes known to the Applicant for producing "regular" potato chips comprise the following basic steps:
(a) peeling of potatoes; PA0 (b) inspecting and rejecting the potatoes having inappropriate qualities; PA0 (c) slicing the potatoes; PA0 (d) washing the potato slices; PA0 (e) drying the potato slices (usually by blowing ambient air by means of a fan); PA0 (f) frying the potato slices by immersion in an edible oil or fat heated at an appropriate temperature (usually in a hydrogenated canola oil heated at about 385.degree. F., for about 150 seconds). PA0 (g) salting the surfaces of the potato chips so obtained (usually by sprinkling salt thereon); PA0 (h) inspecting and rejecting the so obtained potato chips having inappropriate qualities, and, if desired, PA0 (i) flavoring the potato chips with cheese or any other ingredient. PA0 (a) preparing potato slices; PA0 (b) washing these potato slices in an aqueous solution of sodium chloride to salt the same in depth; PA0 (c) drying the salted potato slices; PA0 (d) preheating the dry potato slices with infrared radiations; and PA0 (e) frying the dry and preheated potato slices by immersion in a bath of edible oil or fat heated at an appropriate temperature to fry the same.
Potato chips called "regular" usually have a fat content of about 36 to 42% by weight. Uptaking of this oil or fat occurs during the frying step where the chips are immersed in an edible oil or fat heated at a temperature appropriate for such frying.
Numerous attempts have been made up to now to reduce and eventually eliminate the oil or fat content in potato chips so as to satisfy an increasing request from consumers toward this type of chips.
Thus, by way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,786 describes a process where potato slices are fried in an oil or fat heated at a temperature varying from 280.degree. F. to 320.degree. F. The slices are removed from the oil or fat when their moisture content is of about 3 to 15% by weight, and then brought into contact for about 1 to 10 minutes, with an air stream whose temperature is of about 250.degree. to 300.degree. F., until the moisture content of these slices is reduced to about 2% by weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,425 describes a process for producing chips having a fat content that may reach 10%. These chips are prepared by coating potato slices with globular proteins, eventually applying a layer of edible oil at the surface of the protein coating, and then heating said coated slices in a micro-wave oven.
Canadian Pat. No. 1,151,945 describes a process for producing chips having a low calorie content, by coating potato slices with a layer of an edible oil and then heating and frying them, in a single step, in a micro-wave oven. The oil uptake of the chips obtained by this process is lower than 20% by weight.
All of these processes for producing potato chips with a low content of oil or fat necessitate either important modifications to the standard equipment used for this purpose, or the installation of a new equipment specific to the production of chips having a low fat or oil content (commonly called "light chips"), which involve in most cases important investment costs.